One of the Inner Sanctuary community participants has asked a question about the law of attraction. The question is here:
“In the law of attraction context, it is often said that events or phenomena occur based on the vibrations you emit. Another perspective suggests that focusing on something amplifies it, so it's advised to concentrate on what you desire instead of on what you don’t want. However, in SONOMAMA practice, is it simply about things happening at that moment, regardless of our state of being?”
Questions like this are very helpful in reaffirming why we are currently practicing SONOMAMA.
If you can attract, of course, you can attract. But are there times when you can and times when you cannot? Can you obtain only what you want and keep away what you don't? Are you consumed by the illusion that you can control yourself? Then, are you creating suffering after all?
The cause of suffering is getting caught up in thoughts, which can be described as self-created stories, fantasies, interpretations, and narratives. Those are illusions, detached from reality. Those narratives and interpretations are usually believed as if they were facts. Therefore, the "as it is" practice is about clearly discerning between facts and non-facts. In most cases, humans spend their entire lives immersed in a world of illusion, much like dreaming while asleep. Despite reality being the only truth, there's a constant yearning for something else, pursuing it throughout life. You may also be tormented by painful illusions. While enjoying illusions may seem enjoyable, they are not purely pleasurable. Believing pleasant illusions as a fact creates attachments and suffering. So, the first step to liberating from suffering is to discern between reality and illusion. Once you have seen through that, whatever happens is okay. After all, there's no choice but to be OK with reality. Because there is no other option, there can't be. And then, when you fully accept that, you should enjoy the movie on the screen to the fullest. Enjoy the law attraction as well. Be free and unrestricted. Whether you attract or not, you will become okay. That's just part of the movie. Once you can distinguish between illusion and reality, you'll truly understand that what exists is the current state, perfect as it is.
When that realization settles within you, it's like the bottom falling out of a bucket - a release, a relaxation, and a carefree ease. To let that realization sink in, we practice.
*SONOMAMA, as-it-is-ness, is a core of zen teaching.
Writing and Photography by K E I K O
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